Social assistance in the coronavirus situation

Basic social assistance can be provided to individuals or families living or residing in Finland whose income and assets do not cover their essential daily needs, such as food and medicine.

Basic social assistance is intended for persons who are unable to make a living from work or self-employment, by receiving social security benefits, or by relying on their other income or assets. It is also intended for those who are entitled to maintenance payments but who are not supported by the person liable for maintenance.

Other benefits must be claimed before resorting to social assistance

Basic social assistance is a last-resort form of financial aid which is affected by all of the income and assets available to the applicants and their families, including any savings in a bank account. Other social security benefits are counted as income. Prior to applying for basic social assistance, customers must find out whether they might be entitled to other social benefits, including unemployment benefits, housing benefits, benefits for parents, or sickness allowance.

What is your situation?

Always first register with TE Services as an unemployed jobseeker. After this, you can apply for labour market subsidy from Kela. You don’t need to close down your business to qualify for unemployment benefits. You can have income from self-employment even if you get labour market subsidy, in which case your income will be taken into account when determining the amount of benefit that you get.

You can apply for basic social assistance if you have applied for unemployment benefit or housing allowance but have not yet received a decision. Social assistance may be granted in advance against a future benefit you are expected to receive. In that case, the social assistance granted is deducted from the principal benefit.

The most important documents are the bank statements. Bank statements are needed for the self-employed person's and the family members’ all Finnish and foreign bank accounts as well as for the company’s accounts. As regards self-employed persons who use an invoicing service, bank statements are needed for the self-employed person and the family as well as verification of the assets in the invoicing service. Without the necessary documentation, it is not possible to process the application.

Notice that the work requirement for qualifying for unemployment allowance has been reduced temporarily from 26 weeks to 13 weeks. It applies to persons with at least one week that counts towards the work requirement starting from 1 March 2020.

Also find out if you are eligible for the general housing allowance, which takes precedence over basic social assistance. You can apply for basic social assistance if you have applied for unemployment benefit or housing allowance but have not yet received a decision.

Notice that the work requirement for qualifying for unemployment allowance has been reduced temporarily from 26 weeks to 13 weeks. It applies to persons with at least one week that counts towards the work requirement starting from 1 March 2020.

You can apply for basic social assistance if you have applied for unemployment benefit or housing allowance but have not yet received a decision. Social assistance may be granted in advance against a future benefit you are expected to receive. In that case, the social assistance granted is deducted from the principal benefit.